What’s Changing in Canada’s Cleaning Industry This Year (And What It Means for You)
A few weeks ago, I was talking with a cleaning business owner who had three phones on the table, a half-finished coffee beside them, and a stack of papers they hadn’t had time to organize.
One phone was buzzing about a missed shift. Another had a client asking for proof that a washroom had been cleaned. The third was showing a message from a subcontractor asking when they were getting paid.
They looked at me and said, “I honestly thought I was building a business. Some days, I feel like I’m just trying to keep the whole thing from falling apart.”
That feeling is more common than people admit.
But here’s the good news: cleaning businesses across Canada are being pushed toward better systems, clearer expectations, fairer treatment, and more professional standards. Yes, there’s more to keep track of. But these changes also create a real opportunity for cleaning professionals to move out of survival mode and into a business that works properly.
Here’s what’s changing in 2026, and what it means for you.
1. The federal minimum wage is now $18.15 : but know who it applies to
As of April 1, 2026, Canada’s federal minimum wage increased to $18.15 per hour for employees in federally regulated private-sector workplaces.
That’s an important update, but there’s a piece that often gets missed: most residential cleaning and janitorial services are regulated provincially or territorially, not federally.
The federal rate generally applies to workers connected to federally regulated industries such as:
Banking
Air transportation
Railways
Telecommunications
Postal and courier services
Interprovincial trucking
Ports and pipelines
So, if you’re running a local cleaning business, your provincial or territorial minimum wage will usually be the rate you need to follow. If you clean for a federally regulated company, the federal rate may apply : and the higher applicable provincial or territorial rate must be paid where required.
You can read the official update from Employment and Social Development Canada.
What this means for cleaning business owners
This is a good time to review:
Your employee pay rates
Your client pricing
Your payroll calculations
Your travel and supply costs
Whether your current rates actually leave room for wages, insurance, taxes, and profit
Here’s the honest part: if you haven’t raised your cleaning prices in a while, paying people fairly may feel impossible. But underpricing your work doesn’t solve the problem. It usually just means the owner absorbs the loss through unpaid admin time, stress, and burnout.
Fair pay and profitable pricing have to sit at the same table.
2. Proof-of-service expectations are getting more common
Across Canada, clients are asking for more documentation.
In some workplaces, that means cleaning logs. In others, it means checklists, digital timestamps, inspection notes, or proof that specific tasks were completed. And when regulations are involved, the requirements vary by province or territory, by industry, and sometimes by the type of site being serviced.
That part matters, so I want to be really clear here: if you’re dealing with cleaning records, posting requirements, worker access, or inspection rules, verify the rules with the applicable provincial, territorial, or federal authority before you treat anything as a standard across Canada.
Now, I know what some of you are thinking: “One more log? One more thing for my team to remember?”
I get it.
But this is also a chance to show clients that your janitorial services are organized, accountable, and ready for today’s expectations. A clean space matters. Being able to show what was done matters too.
A simple step you can take this week
Create one standard service log for every commercial account that includes:
Site name
Area or task completed
Date and time
Cleaner name or identifier
Notes about supplies, damage, or maintenance concerns
The minimum requirements may vary depending on where you work and what kind of facility you service, but a more complete record can help you answer client questions, spot recurring problems, and protect your business when something is disputed.
Paper is fine if it’s kept current. Digital tracking can be helpful if you have multiple sites or several cleaners moving throughout the day.
The point isn’t to make things fancy. The point is to stop relying on memory.
3. Green cleaning is becoming a contract requirement
“Green cleaning” used to sound like a nice extra on a proposal.
That’s changing.
Public-sector and government-related contracts are placing more importance on documented green cleaning programs. It’s not enough to say, “We use eco-friendly products.” Clients increasingly want to know:
Which products you use
What standards those products meet
How your team is trained
What procedures your cleaners follow
How you measure and improve your program
Whether you can provide documentation during the bidding process
That’s where CIMS-GB is becoming more important.
CIMS-GB, administered through ISSA Canada, builds on the Cleaning Industry Management Standard and adds green-building requirements. It connects environmental practices with stronger operations, quality control, training, risk management, and documented service expectations.
The Ontario Education Collaborative Marketplace explains how CIMS-GB supports janitorial procurement, including quality assurance, sustainability, contractor verification, and contract performance.
You may not be ready for certification today, and that’s okay. You can still start building the habits certification requires.
Try putting together:
A written green cleaning policy
A list of approved products
A short green cleaning training guide
Product safety and usage instructions
A record of team training
A simple way to track client feedback and improvements
That documentation can help you stand out when you’re competing for commercial, institutional, or public contracts.
4. “Contractor” doesn’t automatically mean independent contractor
This is one of the biggest areas cleaning business owners need to understand.
Calling someone a contractor doesn’t make them one.
Government agencies look at the actual working relationship. They may consider:
Who sets the schedule
Who controls how the work is done
Who supplies the equipment and products
Whether the worker can work for other businesses
Whether they can hire someone else to do the work
Whether they invoice by project or are paid hourly
Whether they carry real business risk
Whether they’re integrated into your company
The Government of Canada’s guidance on employer-employee relationships explains that workers paid for work are presumed to be employees unless the employer can prove otherwise under the applicable rules.
In Ontario, the WSIB also looks at the real relationship, including control, tools, profit, risk, and whether the person is operating a separate business.
For cleaning companies, this matters because many cleaners:
Work regular shifts
Use company supplies
Follow company procedures
Wear company uniforms
Are assigned to specific buildings
Are supervised by the business
Perform the core service the company sells
That can look much more like employment than independent contracting.
And just like wage rules, requirements and tests can vary depending on the province, territory, or authority involved. Don’t assume one province’s approach applies everywhere. Verify the rules with the applicable authority and get professional advice if you’re unsure.
Your practical next step
Make a list of everyone you currently pay as a contractor.
For each person, write down:
Who sets their hours?
Who provides the tools and supplies?
Who decides how the work is completed?
Can they work for other clients?
Do they operate a separate business?
If the answers are unclear, don’t ignore it. Get professional advice or request a status determination where appropriate. The cost of sorting it out early is usually much lower than dealing with retroactive premiums, payroll issues, or an injury claim later.
5. Digital records are becoming normal : and that can help you breathe
The cleaning industry is moving away from paper-only systems.
That doesn’t mean every small cleaning business needs complicated software. It does mean clients, workers, and regulators increasingly expect information to be:
Timestamped
Easy to find
Connected to a specific site
Available from a phone
Backed up
Easy to share when questions come up
Digital tools can help track cleaning checklists, inspections, washroom logs, staff schedules, client communication, and proof of service.
The real benefit isn’t looking modern. It’s reducing the number of things living in your head.
That’s one reason we developed BeyondPro : to help cleaning professionals manage more of their business from one place, whether they’re at a desk, in a vehicle, or standing in a supply room trying to remember what they forgot.
You don’t have to digitize everything in one day. Start with the process that causes the most stress.
Maybe that’s:
Scheduling
Client follow-up
Cleaning logs
Invoicing
Team communication
Tracking supplies
One reliable system is better than five half-used notebooks.
Community Spotlight: A cleaning pro who stopped doing it all alone
This month, we’re celebrating a janitorial professional who’ll sound familiar to a lot of people reading this.
Like a lot of cleaning business owners, they started by doing everything themselves. They cleaned the sites, answered clients, handled supplies, managed scheduling, and tried to keep up with paperwork after long days on their feet.
When documentation expectations started increasing, the first reaction was stress. But instead of waiting for things to become a bigger problem, they leaned into the support and systems available through the BeyondPro Network.
They worked with clients to introduce clearer cleaning records, including digital logs and physical backup options. Their clients could see when spaces had been serviced, and their team had a clearer process to follow.
The biggest change wasn’t just the log.
It was the confidence.
They moved from feeling like they were constantly reacting to problems to feeling like they were running a real janitorial services business. Their clients saw the difference too. They weren’t simply selling cleaning anymore. They were providing reliability, documentation, and peace of mind.
That’s what a real cleaning industry community can do. It gives you a place to ask questions before the crisis, learn from someone who has already made the mistake, and remember that you’re not the only one figuring this out.
What you can do today
You don’t need to overhaul your whole business this week. Start here:
Review one compliance area: wages, cleaning records, worker classification, or green cleaning documentation.
Create one repeatable process: something your team can follow without needing to call you every time.
Ask for support: from an accountant, legal professional, industry mentor, or a community that understands cleaning businesses.
If you’re ready to build better systems and connect with professionals who understand the work, you can learn more about the BeyondPro Network or explore cleaning business coaching and resources.
Rachel: +1 (705) 910-1211
You can also visit our contact page.
Your cleaning industry advocate ❤️ Ammanda
What’s one part of your cleaning business that still feels like survival mode : and what would help you turn it into a real, reliable system?
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